A gaming machine and method are provided which allow a player to play a gaming machine. The gaming machine and method allow a player to make a wager, display a first game on a display device, generate an outcome associated with the first game, and award the player an award for the first game based at least in part on the generated first game outcome. In addition, the gaming machine determines if a triggering condition occurred, displays a second game if the triggering condition has occurred, and calculates a current trigger cycle of the generated second game. The current trigger cycle is equal to a number of first games played after an occurrence of a previous second game triggering condition. The player is provided an award for the second game based at least in part on the second game current trigger cycle.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method for displaying a game and providing an award to a player via a gaming machine to facilitate increasing player interest and increasing profitability of the gaming machine, comprising the steps of: allowing a player, through a value accepting device which accepts physical media indicating a monetary value, to make a wager to initiate a game, the game including a plurality of reels being displayed on a display device, each of the reels displaying a plurality of symbols; detecting, through a controller, a trigger event; generating, through the controller, an outcome associated with the game including generating a random number and selecting a combination of symbols from a database as a function of the random number and displaying the outcome including spinning and stopping the reels to display the selected combination of symbols on the display device; determining, through the controller, if the generated outcome is a winning outcome as a function of the combination of symbols; determining, through the controller, a number of previous games played prior to the winning outcome; calculating, through the controller a scaling factor equal to the determined number of previous games played divided by a trigger event cycle; and providing, through the controller, an award to the player based at least in part on the winning outcome, a paytable being stored in the database, and the scaling factor.
2. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: determining an average award associated with the winning outcome; calculating an adjusted award based on the average award and the determined number of previous games played; and providing the calculated adjusted award to the player for achieving the winning outcome.
3. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: calculating an average bet value equal to an average amount of bets made for each of the previous games played; and providing the award to the player based at least in part on the calculated average bet value.
4. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the award includes a bonus game.
5. A method for displaying a game and providing an award to a player via a gaming machine to facilitate increasing player interest and increasing profitability of the gaming machine, comprising the steps of: allowing a player, through a value accepting device which accepts physical media indicating a monetary value, to make a wager to initiate a game, the game including a plurality of reels being displayed on a display device, each of the reels displaying a plurality of symbols; detecting, through a controller, a trigger event; generating, through the controller, an outcome associated with the game including generating a random number and selecting a combination of symbols from a database as a function of the random number and displaying the outcome including spinning and stopping the reels to display the selected combination of symbols on the display device; determining, through the controller, if the outcome is a winning outcome as a function of the combination of symbols; determining, through the controller, a number of previous games played prior to the winning outcome; randomly selecting, through the controller, a trigger event cycle including a number of games to be played prior to the occurrence of the winning outcome; calculating, through the controller, a scaling factor equal to the determined number of previous games played divided by the trigger event cycle; and providing, through the controller, an award to the player based at least in part on the calculated scaling factor, the winning outcome, and a paytable being stored in the database.
6. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: providing the player one of a plurality of awards based on the winning outcome, wherein each award of the plurality of awards has a probability of occurrence; and adjusting the probability of occurrence associated with each award based on the determined number of previous games.
7. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the game includes a plurality of reels, each reel of the plurality of reels includes a plurality of reel symbols, said method further comprises the steps of: establishing a symbol weight of each reel symbol of the plurality of reel symbols based at least in part on the determining number of previous games; and generating the game outcome including the established symbol weights.
8. A gaming machine for displaying a game and providing an award to a player via the gaming machine to facilitate increasing player interest and increasing profitability of the gaming machine, comprising: a database including a plurality of game symbols and a paytable; a display device for displaying the game including a plurality of reels being displayed on a display device, each of the reels displaying a plurality of symbols; a value accepting device which accepts physical media indicating a monetary value to allow the player to make a wager; and a controller for detecting a trigger event, generating an outcome associated with a game including generating a random number and selecting a combination of symbols from the database as a function of the random number and displaying the outcome including spinning and stopping the reels to display the selected combination of symbols on the display device, determining if the generated outcome is a winning outcome as a function of the displayed combination of symbols, determining a number of previous games played prior to the winning outcome, calculating a scaling factor equal to the determined number of previous games played divided by a given trigger event cycle, and providing an award to the player based at least in part on the winning outcome including the combination of symbols, the paytable, and the scaling factor.
9. A gaming machine in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the controller determines an average award associated with the winning outcome, calculates an adjusted award based on the average award and the determined number of previous games played, and provides the calculated adjusted award to the player for achieving the winning outcome.
10. A gaming machine in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the controller calculates an average bet value equal to an average amount of bets made for each of the previous games played, and provides the award to the player based at least in part on the calculated average bet value.
11. A gaming machine in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the award includes a bonus game.
12. A gaming machine for displaying a game and providing an award to a player via the gaming machine to facilitate increasing player interest and increasing profitability of the gaming machine, comprising: a database including a plurality of game symbols and a paytable; a display device for displaying the game including a plurality of reels being displayed on a display device, each of the reels displaying a plurality of symbols; a value accepting device which accepts physical media indicating a monetary value to allow the player to make a wager; and a controller configured to detect a trigger event, generate an outcome associated with the game including generating a random number and selecting a combination of symbols from the database as a function of the random number and display the outcome including spinning and stopping the reels to display the selected combination of symbols on the display device, determine if the outcome is a winning outcome as a function of the displayed combination of symbols, determine a number of previous games played prior to the winning outcome, randomly selects a trigger event cycle including a number of games to be played prior to the occurrence of the winning outcome, calculates a scaling factor equal to the determined number of previous games played divided by the trigger event cycle, and provide an award to the player based at least in part on the calculated scaling factor, the combination of symbols, and the paytable.
13. A gaming machine in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the controller provides the player one of a plurality of awards based on the winning outcome, wherein each award of the plurality of awards has a probability of occurrence, the controller adjusts the probability of occurrence associated with each award based on the determined number of previous games.
14. A gaming machine in accordance with claim 8 , wherein the controller displays the game including a plurality of reels, wherein each reel of the plurality of reels includes a plurality of reel symbols, the controller establishes a symbol weight of each reel symbol of the plurality of reel symbols based at least in part on the determining number of previous games, and generates the game outcome including the established symbol weights.
15. A gaming system for displaying a game and providing an award to a player via the gaming machine to facilitate increasing player interest and increasing profitability of the gaming machine, comprising: a database including a plurality of game symbols and a paytable; a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine including a display device, a value accepting device which accepts physical media indicating a monetary value to allow the player to make a wager, and a game controller for generating an outcome associated with a game and displaying the outcome on the display device, the game including a plurality of reels being displayed on a display device, each of the reels displaying a plurality of symbols; and a jackpot controller for detecting a trigger event, generating an outcome associated with the game including generating a random number and selecting a combination of symbols from the database as a function of the random number and displaying the outcome including spinning and stopping the reels to display the selected combination of symbols on the display device, determining if a generated outcome on an associated gaming machine is a winning outcome as a function of the displayed combination of symbols, determining a number of previous games played on the associated gaming machine prior to the winning outcome, calculating a scaling factor equal to the determined number of previous games played divided by a trigger event cycle, and providing an award to the player based at least in part on the winning outcome, the paytable, and the scaling factor.
16. A gaming system in accordance with claim 15 , wherein the jackpot controller determines a total number of previous games equal to a sum of the determined number of previous games played on each of the gaming machines, and adjusts the award provided to the player based on the determined total number of previous games played.
17. A gaming system in accordance with claim 15 , wherein the jackpot controller determines an average award associated with the winning outcome, calculates an adjusted award based on the average award and the determined number of previous games played, and provides the calculated adjusted award to the player for achieving the winning outcome.
18. A gaming system in accordance with claim 15 , wherein the jackpot controller calculates an average bet value equal to an average amount of bets made for each of the previous games played on the associated gaming machine, and provides the award to the player based at least in part on the calculated average bet value.
19. A gaming system in accordance with claim 15 , wherein the jackpot controller calculates a scaling factor based at least in part on the determined number of previous games played, and provides the award to the player based at least in part on the calculated scaling factor.
20. A gaming system for displaying a game and providing an award to a player via a gaming machine to facilitate increasing player interest and increasing profitability of the gaming machine, comprising: a database including a plurality of game symbols and a paytable; a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine including a display device, a value accepting device which accepts physical media indicating a monetary value to allow the player to make a wager, and a game controller for generating an outcome associated with a game and displaying the outcome on the display device, the game including a plurality of reels being displayed on a display device, each of the reels displaying a plurality of symbols; and a jackpot controller for detecting a trigger event, generating an outcome associated with the game including generating a random number and selecting a combination of symbols from the database as a function of the random number and displaying the outcome including spinning and stopping the reels to display the selected combination of symbols on the display device, determining if the generated outcome on an associated gaming machine is a winning outcome as a function of the displayed combination of symbols, determining number of previous games played on the associated gaming machine prior to the winning outcome, randomly selecting a trigger event cycle including a number of games to be played on at least one gaming machine of the plurality of gaming machines prior to the occurrence of the winning outcome, calculating a scaling factor equal to the determined number of previous first games played divided by the trigger event cycle, and provide an award to the player as a function of the calculated scaling factor, the combination of symbols, and the paytable.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
January 30, 2014
December 1, 2015
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